Slippery Rock, Pa. - Slow starts have become a unsettling trend for the Millersville men's basketball team. On Tuesday at Slippery Rock and for the fourth time in six losses, Millersville fell behind by double digits before the mid-way point of the first half and could not recover. The Rock used four players in double figures to run away with a 77-49 win over the visiting Marauders.

Millersville was playing its first game in 10 days and it showed. Slippery Rock (7-2, 3-1 PSAC) scored the first nine points of the game and led by 15 less than five minutes into the game. While The Rock hit six of its first seven shots, Millersville (4-6, 1-4 PSAC) made just one of its first seven. The advantage was pushed to 41-21 at the half after the home team ripped off an 18-7 over the final 8:30. Millersville shot just 4-of-28 from the field in the first frame.

The offense didn't improve much in the second half. Millersville shot 7-of-37 (18.9 percent) in the final 20 minutes and made only 11-of-65 field goals in the game. Nearly half of Millersville points (23-of-49) came from the free throw line. Tyree Smith led Millersville with 12 points on 3-of-10 shooting. Kelvin Parker scored 10 on 2-of-11 shooting from the field.

Millersville remains in the PSAC West Wednesday to take on Edinboro.